If you're putting offers out there on social media, week in and week out, wondering why literally nobody is interested in your offer, you'll find out why in this episode of the podcast.
In this week's episode of the podcast we are talking about something called Latent Demand and why too many business owners are putting out rubbish offers that nobody is paying attention to.
A mistake people make is that they think it's their "audience" who are fools for not wanting to take the marketer up on their amazing offer. They didn't stop to ask several very pertinent questions before spraying marketing muck all over their audience. These questions include:
In fact all of these could indeed by true but your messaging sucks so while your offer is great your value proposition sucks and so the market indeed ignores your offer.
This is not, however, their fault, it's yours and you need to own it and ensure your offer has some context based on the questions I've posed above.
Your offer should be an invitation to take the next step on your process and NOT to buy something from you.
Let me explain, most people are littering the marketplace with cheap offers which are sub £200. Cheap and dirty and they think that will attract buyers in.
However, this rarely works.
This thing called Latent Demand exists.
An example of latent demand would be the shoppers trawling the aisles of Sainsburys for bread and milk and then stumbling across the baked beans shelves and spotting that Heinz have a 2-for-1 sale on beans.
It is the latent demant which stimulates people to buy the offer NOT the actual offer itself.
In this example, you don't have loads of people sniffing around your aisles for staple foods, it's rare any small business has this level of latent demand (think here; a Facebook Group with 10,000 members, that's your equivalent of latent demand).
So for most, their offer goes completely unnoticed in all the plethora of other market stallholders shouting, "Buy my stuff! Buy my stuff! Buy my stuff!"
Join our amazing community of Coaches, Consultants and Freelancers on Facebook:
>> https://facebook.com/groups/ChargeMore
And check out my personal business coaching website.
Latent demand is the consumer desire to purchase a specific product that is not currently being offered on the market.
This means that there are people who want to buy electric cars, but no one has created them yet. It also means that people have been waiting for 3D printers for years and still don't have access to one.
Companies can capitalise on latent demand by creating new products or by adapting existing products so they better suit this need.
The lack of latent demand for a product can lead to the failure of a new business. A company that lacks sufficient insight into what its customers want will be unable to produce the right products, and that's the kiss of death in today's hyper-competitive markets. If you don't have your finger on your market's pulse, you'll be left behind as others move ahead with their offerings.
Take, for example, Apple's Newton PDA (personal digital assistant). It was released in 1993 as Apple's answer to PCs running Windows 3.0; however, it failed because consumers didn't see any reason why they needed one since PCs were already capable enough for most tasks at the time. In short: there was no latent demand for portable computing devices such as PDAs or laptops due to their high cost and limited functionality compared with desktop computers or smartphones today, so even though Apple had developed an innovative device with touchscreen technology years before anyone else thought about doing so themselves––it didn't matter!
Once you have a good handle on the latent demand for your product, you're ready to start testing the waters. This can be done by performing market research with potential customers and checking their reactions to different features of your product. If you get positive feedback, then it's likely that they would buy your product if it were available.
Let’s face it, customer desires aren’t always etched in stone. Sometimes, needs spark up and vanish almost as quickly as they appeared. That’s where real-time data collection becomes invaluable. By gathering information the moment it happens, whether that’s a click, a search, or even a stray scroll, businesses can build a sharper, more immediate picture of what their customers are truly after, even if those wants are short-lived.
Think of it like spotting trends in a bustling marketplace: what people are craving today may not be on their radar tomorrow. Real-time insights let companies identify and respond to these shifting needs while they’re still fresh. Imagine those baked beans on a 2-for-1 special, miss the moment, and the chance is gone.
In practice, this means you’re not marketing to a static crowd. Like Ogilvy famously quipped, it’s a moving parade, and the ability to keep pace with that crowd, grabbing those fleeting, sometimes hidden desires as they come and go, can be the difference between catching your customer’s attention and being left in the dust.
The story of the Netflix Prize is a goldmine, pun intended, for any business hoping to peek under the surface and spot hidden opportunities that their customers might not voice directly. By throwing open their treasure trove of user data, Netflix effectively invited a global parade of data wranglers to sift through millions of viewing behaviors, looking for those subtle, not-so-obvious preferences lurking beneath the headline numbers.
Here are a few lessons businesses can pocket from this bold experiment:
The takeaway? Sometimes the greatest opportunity is in the patterns people don’t articulate, those off-the-cuff choices, unexplored wants, and minor quirks. With the right tools, smart research design, and a willingness to bring in fresh eyes, any business can start to unearth the hidden gold of latent demand.
So how do you actually uncover those secret, smoldering desires your customers might not even be able to articulate? Here’s where behavioral and first-party data come into play and start to flex their muscles.
Think of it like hunting for clues in everyday activity. Just as a supermarket watches what ends up in your basket after you stray from your planned shopping list (hello, impulse beans!), companies can observe how customers interact with their websites, products, or apps. Every click, scroll, view, and purchase tells a story, and when you gather enough of these breadcrumbs, patterns start to emerge.
Over time, with enough data, you can spot the subtle signals that suggest a customer’s unspoken preferences:
By systematically collecting and analysing this kind of behavioral data, ideally across various touchpoints, you’re effectively building a richer, more nuanced profile than you could ever get from surveys alone. The gold here is often in the details: maybe you notice that lots of early-morning visitors to your site are searching for healthy, on-the-go breakfast options, suggesting an unmet need.
Modern tools and AI take this even further. They stitch together data from multiple sources, assembling a detailed, real-time picture of what customers are doing, wanting, and even thinking (before they say a word). For example, just like automakers noticed the surge in drive-thru fast food and responded with cupholders before it became obvious, your own data might reveal the next big feature or service innovation hiding in plain sight.
In short, by letting behavioral and first-party data guide your market research, you can spot not just today’s demands but tomorrow’s, giving you a serious edge in shaping offers that feel almost magically relevant.
Now, you might be wondering, how do businesses actually get ahead of these hidden desires? Enter customer data platforms, or CDPs. Thanks to advancements in data tech (think Salesforce, Segment, and their ilk), companies can now weave together data from all corners of their business, website clicks, in-store activity, even app usage, right into a single, unified picture of each customer.
The magic here is speed and depth. Instead of waiting weeks for survey results or relying on gut feeling, businesses can use CDPs to spot patterns or shifting preferences in near real-time. The moment a customer's behavior changes, maybe they linger longer on vegan recipes or start searching for eco-friendly cleaning brands, the system takes note.
This means companies are better equipped than ever to uncover fleeting, yet powerful, surges in latent demand, and to respond with tailored offers before those needs evaporate. A level of insight, and agility, that simply wasn't possible just a decade ago.
Artificial intelligence has well and truly changed the game when it comes to understanding what customers want, even before they say it out loud. Instead of relying on the old methods of laborious surveys or guesswork, businesses can now tap into massive piles of data in real time. With AI at the helm, this isn’t simply about watching what people buy, either.
Here’s how AI makes all the difference:
All this means businesses now have the power to respond to latent demand quickly and with far more accuracy. If Heinz can spot shoppers hovering near their beans and serve up a timely two-for-one, AI can do that same thing for just about any product, only faster, and at scale.
Back in the day, businesses relied on straightforward segmentation strategies with tools like printed catalogs. Think of the classic Argos or Littlewoods booklets dropping through the letterbox, packed with carefully chosen products for select groups of customers. These catalogs were essentially the granddads of targeting, aiming different versions at different households based on age, location, or shopping history.
Fast-forward to today, and the approach has been turbocharged (and digitised). Instead of thumbing through glossy paper pages, modern shoppers scroll on smartphones and laptops, where every click and search is tracked. Brands now serve up ultra-tailored recommendations, think Amazon suggesting that gadget you whispered to your mate about last week, or Netflix sending you a list of must-watch shows eerily matched to your taste. The level of granularity is on a whole other planet.
The leap isn’t just about technology for technology’s sake. At its core, this shift means customers are finally being shown what they truly want, sometimes before they’ve even realised it themselves. When done well, these personalised digital nudges feel less like a hard sell and more like a friendly helper, making the shopping experience smoother both for customers and the bottom line.
You might be thinking, “But why would people not want to voice their latent demand?” The answer is simple: fear of being judged. Consumers often have a negative connotation associated with conceiving and expressing their purchasing desires. For example, if you were to tell your friend that you are going to buy a new meal replacement shake because it tastes better than any other brand on the market, then he might look at you as though he think...
So, you’re probably wondering, how do businesses actually discover those juicy pockets of untapped demand? Enter data mining and algorithms, the modern-day equivalent of gold prospecting.
Here's how it works, using a dash of tech magic and a sprinkle of clever analysis:
Thanks to advances like customer data platforms (CDPs) and real-time AI, this process is faster and sharper than ever. You're not stuck with big, clunky segments, now you can stitch together all kinds of data points and respond instantly to changes in customer desires.
The real power here? It’s not about guessing what your customers want, it's about knowing. And when you activate what you’ve learned, you’re no longer just another voice shouting “Buy my stuff!” in the marketplace. Instead, you’re the savvy stallholder who knows just which passersby are hungriest for your offer, which makes all the difference.
You might be thinking, “But why would people not want to voice their latent demand?” The answer is simple: fear of being judged. Consumers often have a negative connotation associated with conceiving and expressing their purchasing desires. For example, if you were to tell your friend that you are going to buy a new meal replacement shake because it tastes better than any other brand on the market, then he might look at you as though he thinks this is weird or even unhealthy behavior.
In order for a business owner to understand latent demand for his or her product(s), they must first recognise how consumers think about potential purchases before making them public through word-of-mouth marketing efforts like social media posts or product reviews online platforms such as Amazon. When done correctly, these efforts will allow companies access into the mindsets of potential customers so that they can better understand what makes one item attractive over another. and thus uncovering hidden areas where there may exist opportunities for growth within their own businesses!
Marketing is a significant factor in determining consumers' perception of what products are available and desirable. Marketing can be used to create latent demand for a product that is not currently available, or it can be used to increase demand for a product that is currently available. In this way, marketing can serve as an important tool in the creation of new products and industries.
The most common way of uncovering latent demand is through market research. This can take the form of surveys, focus groups, or interviews. It's important to remember that while consumers may not know what they want until it is presented to them, they are more than willing to share their opinions on a variety of subjects once prompted. Asking consumers questions like: "Do you use [product category]?" or "What do you think makes an ideal [product category]." can be very helpful in determining what people actually desire and are not currently getting from their current sources of supply.
Another method for discovering latent demand is through analysis and synthesis of existing data. One example would be conducting an analysis on industry sales reports and then synthesising that information into a new product idea or service offering aimed at meeting unmet customer needs in the marketplace
Latent demand is the consumer desire to purchase a specific product that is not currently being offered on the market. This means that consumers are willing to buy products, but there aren't any products available for them to purchase. So what happens when there's latent demand? Marketers can use this information in two ways: they may be able to introduce new products into the marketplace, or they may be able to improve their existing offerings so they appeal more strongly to potential customers.
No, latent demand and unmet demand are not the same. Unmet demand is a measure of how much customers want a product or service that they do not currently have access to. An example of unmet demand would be if people wanted to use Uber, but couldn't because there wasn't an Uber available in their area. Latent demand is different because it measures consumer interest in buying something even though it's already available on the market. For example, if someone has never heard of Uber before and wants to use it once they learn about how convenient and cheap it can be, then their desire for using Uber would be considered latent demand because they only want to use this service once they have knowledge about its existence.
A good example of latent demand is the need for a product that isn't being offered in the marketplace. Let's say you find an idea for a new type of vegetable cutter, but it takes years before someone else comes up with the same idea. The market doesn't know about this need because it hasn't been met yet. Once someone finally meets this latent demand, though, it can become very profitable, especially if there are other competitors waiting in line to come out with their own versions of your product.
Another example of latent demand is when something exists but not at the right price or quality level yet. For example, a smartphone might cost too much for many people in developing countries where smartphones aren't considered essential items (yet). However, as smartphone prices drop and their value increases through new features such as cameras and internet access, these things start becoming more important over time, they'll become more common around developing countries too!
Latent demand is the absence of a product or service in the market. It's also caused by the lack of a product that meets the needs of a certain demographic. This can happen when:
The distinction between latent demand and effective demand is important to understand, as it's essential to assessing the potential of a product or service.
Latent demand is the desire for a product that does not yet exist on the market; effective demand is the actual demand for a product or service once it has been introduced into the market. The term commonly refers to latent consumer needs, which are those things you want but don't purchase at present because they're not available in your local area.
In other words: latent demand is not always effective demand, and vice versa, meaning there's no guarantee that if you create an innovative new offering based on what people say they want (i.e., their latent needs), they'll actually buy it when you bring it to market.
You can uncover latent demand through market research. Market research is the process of collecting information about an aspect of your industry and making informed decisions based on that information. It often begins with the creation of a survey questionnaire, which you can then distribute to potential customers. You can also use other techniques like interviews or focus groups to learn more about what people want and how they’re currently getting it.
As you collect data from your survey, be sure to keep an open mind as you interpret it. As much as we would like to believe that people always tell us exactly what they mean, this isn’t always true, and even when it is, there may be additional meanings behind their words (or actions). The key is not only asking good questions but also observing carefully how respondents answer those questions so that we can get a better sense of what they actually mean by their answers, and thus determine if there's latent demand hiding behind them!
Latent demand is the consumer desire to purchase a specific product that is not currently being offered on the market. This can be either a brand new product or an existing product with higher quality, better features or lower cost than similar products already available.
A business’s failure to address latent demand in its industry could make it difficult for that business to compete with others who are offering more appealing options. An example of this would be Netflix’s introduction of DVD rentals by mail, which was met with considerable resistance from Blockbuster Video but ultimately became one of their main sources of revenue by taking advantage of latent demand among consumers who wanted to rent movies without having to visit their local video store at all hours of day and night (and pay late fees).
Latent demand can also be uncovered through market research using surveys and focus groups, allowing companies like Google and Apple Inc., which have done so well due to uncovering latent demand for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets respectively
The meaning of latent demand is the consumer desire to purchase a specific product that is not currently being offered on the market. The term can be used to refer to any unmet need, but it's typically used in connection with new products or services. Companies often gauge latent demand for their products before launching into production, because understanding whether there's enough interest in a new product will help them decide whether or not it's worth investing in manufacturing and marketing efforts. If they aren't confident that consumers want what they're selling when they launch their business, they won't make much money (or even break even), which could cause them to go out of business altogether.
Latent demand, or the consumer desire to purchase a specific product that is not currently being offered on the market, is not the same as declining demand. Declining demand occurs when there are fewer people wishing to buy a certain product as it becomes more expensive and less desirable.
Despite the fact that there is demand for a product, it may not be possible for the manufacturer to create enough products to satisfy all of their customers. This can have a negative impact on the business because consumers might go somewhere else in order to get what they need.
No, latent demand and unmet demand are not the same. Unmet demand refers to customers wanting a product or service they don't currently have access to, while latent demand measures consumer interest in buying something even if it's already available, once they become aware of it.
A good example of latent demand is the need for a product not yet offered in the marketplace, like a new type of vegetable cutter before it's invented. It can also be when an existing product isn't at the right price or quality level yet, like smartphones in developing countries before prices dropped.
Latent demand is caused by the absence of a product or service in the market, or the lack of a product that meets the specific needs of a certain demographic. This can happen if a product exists but isn't marketed to that demographic, or if no one thought there was enough demand for it until now.
Latent demand is the desire for a product that does not yet exist on the market, representing unmet consumer needs. Effective demand, on the other hand, is the actual demand for a product or service once it has been introduced into the market. Latent demand does not guarantee effective demand.
You can uncover latent demand primarily through market research, using methods like surveys, focus groups, or interviews. It's crucial to ask good questions and carefully observe how respondents answer to understand their underlying desires. Analysis of existing industry data can also reveal unmet customer needs.
An example of latent demand in marketing is Netflix's introduction of DVD rentals by mail. Consumers desired to rent movies without visiting a physical store or paying late fees, a need Blockbuster Video failed to address, allowing Netflix to capitalise on this previously unfulfilled demand.